They were then able to impersonate online bank staff to authorise fraudulent transfers, and even order ATM machines to dispense cash without a bank card.

It was estimated that around £650 million was stolen from the financial institutions in total.

JP and Morgan Chase & Co target of giant hacking conglomerate, 2015

Late in 2015, three men were charged with stealing date from millions of people around the world, as part of a hacking conglomerate that spanned the best part of a decade.

The trio themselves allegedly described the incident as “one of the largest thefts of financial-related data in history”.

Thought to have been operating out of Israel, the trio targeted major corporations, including major US bank JP Morgan Chase & Co, stealing personal data and then selling it on to a large network of accomplices.

The group stole information from more than 83 million customers from JP Morgan alone, and are thought to have made hundred of millions of dollars in illegal profits.

Along with personal data, the hacking group also stole information related to company performance and news, which allowed them to manipulate stock prices and make enormous financial gain.

Using more than 200 fake identity documents, they were able to facilitate large scale payment processing for criminals, an illegal bitcoin exchange, and the laundering of money through approximately 75 shell compaines and accounts globally.

Sony Pictures crippled by GOP hackers, 2014

In late 2014, major entertainment company Sony Pictures were hit with a crippling virus.

Cyber crime group Guardians of Peace (GOP) were behind the apparent blackmail attempt, which saw around 100 terabytes of sensitive data stolen from the company.

It is largely thought that the attack was related to North Korea's disapproval of the film 'The Interview', which humorously predicted Kim Jong-un and contained a plot where main characters attempted to assassinate the head of state.

US government agencies investigated the claim that North Korea had authorised the cyber attack in an attempt to prevent the film from being released.

AP:Associated Press

The attack on Sony Pictures was linked to North Korea's disapproval of the James Franco and Seth Rogan film, 'The Interview'

One billion user accounts stolen from Yahoo, 2013

In one of the largest cases of data theft in history, Yahoo had information from more than one billion user accounts stolen in 2013.

Personal information including names, phone numbers, passwords and email addresses were taken from the internet giant.

Yahoo claimed at the time that no bank details were taken.

Releasing information of the breach in 2016, it was the second time Yahoo had been targeted by hackers, after the accounts of nearly 500 million users were accessed in 2014.

Cyber Crime hub

KIM WAS BEHIND NHS HACK

NHS cyber attack 'was carried out by same North Korean cyber-hackers who targeted Sony in 2014'

CYBER SCAM WARNING

If you see one of these 'ransomware' screens on your computer you're in BIG TROUBLE